American History Reading List

Books on Early America: 1000 - 1600

Early Explorers: Eric the Red, Leif Ericson, Columbus, & more

The list of explorers starts with Leif Ericson, circa AD 1000. More reading selections for kids on the Vikings can be found in our World History Reading List.

Next comes several suggested books on various Explorers, followed by some favorite titles on Columbus in the 1490s. Historical fiction on early American explorers is scarce, but we found a few more selections for the 1520s and 1540s.

Exploration and Conquest : The Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 by Betsy & Giulio Maestro . Mulberry Books, 1994. E-UE+
Factual account of early explorers. Colorful illustrations and short paragraphs per page keep a child's interest. Covers the important names, giving a well-rounded understanding of the age of exploration.

Christopher Columbus (Step into Reading, Step 3) by Stephen Krensky, ill. Norman Green. Random House, 1991. E
Story is limited to Columbus' first voyage, but includes behind-the-scenes details such as the sailors' fears, the boring diet on board ship, and the close mutiny.

A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus by David A. Adler, ill. illus. John & Alexandra Wallner. Holiday House, 1991. E-UE
Not forgotten here is that Columbus sailed across the ocean on 4 separate occasions. All the voyages are told in this thorough, easy-to-understand biography and illustrated with black & white line drawings.

Columbus by Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1955. E-JH+
This story keeps going where most others end, giving the complete scenario of his life both before & after 1492. Every page is illustrated, some color and some black and white.

Garfield Discovers America (created by Jim Davis) by Jim Kraft, illus. Mike Fentz. Watermill Press, 1992. E-UE
If you need a little humor to keep school fun, this is it! Learn about Columbus through the eyes of a favorite comic character: Garfield--well, actually, one of his ancestors. This is not in comic strip format, just large, colorfully illustrated pages.

The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell, illus. Samuel Bryant. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1966. JH+
Seven of Coronado's camp left together to find the fabled golden city on their own. This is their story, told by the now 17-year-old boy who was with them and was one of the few who came through the journey alive. The story is fascinating, slightly sad, and sheds some light on the age of the conquistadors that you might not find anywhere else.

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